There aren't too many things that suprise me living in Mindanao. I suppose one can't help but become jaded living in such a place, but Friday, July 1st, 2011 I found myself absolutely floored with what transpired between Mayor Sara "Inday" Duterte Carpio and Sheriff Abe Andres of Davao City's Regional Trial Court #16. On the day in question Sheriff Andres readied himself to execute a Writ of Eviction against the inhabitants of 50 squatter homes lying within Blocks numbered 1 through 3, on the corner of Soliman and Bangoy Streets in that city's Barangay Kapitan Tomas Monteverde's Sitio Soliman, in the infamous Agado District.
Following standard procedure he showed up at the nearest CPO (City Police Office) station, Santa Ana, to inform the station's commander, Senior Inspector Ronald Lao, that the eviction, and subsequent demolition of homes, would be taking place within Lao's AOR, or Area of Responsibility. Meeting both of them there at 730AM was the un-identified property owner who provided his own paperwork as well as Engineer Julius Ervin (Filipinos LOVE basketball) A.Perez. Perez was on scene to perform a pre-eviction geographical survey to ensure that only the homes specified in the writ were demolished. At 830AM the group arrived at the area in question. After speaking with the effected residents Sheriff Andres and told Engineer Perez to commence with his survey.
At 840AM an assistant to Mayor Duterte Carpio telephoned Sheriff Andres from city hall relaying a request from the Mayor that the endeavor be delayed at least 2 hours so that the Mayor might seek a court ordered injunction to stop the eviction and demolition. Andres explained that he was unable to do so as he is merely an agent of the court. He suggested though, that the Mayor might contact the Judge who had signed the writ, Emmanuel Carpio, who co-incidentally happens to be the uncle of the Mayor's husband, attorney Maneses "Mans" Carpio.
At 930AM Senior Inspector Lao, the engineer Mr. Perez, and Barangay Captain Fulgencio Pavo conferred with Andres warning him that some of the residents were getting testy, as rumors of a mass eviction began circulating but Andres informed them that there was little he could do. He had already consulted the residents themselves and explained that the Writ applied to 50 homes, and that Mr. Perez would conduct a geographical survey to ensure that only the homes located on the propert(ies) covered under the writ would be targeted.
Just 10 minutes later, at 940AM residents turned on the police and began stoning them, injuring 2 officers superficially. With this unrest all activities connected to the eviction ceased as it had become what the PNP (Philippine National Police) like to call a "Peace and Order" situation. As tempers flared and the 2 PNP officers injured in the melee had their scratches attended to at 955AM, none other than Mayor Duterte Carpio herself drove up, her ever present PNP-supplied bodyguards surrounding her. Ms. Carpio wasted little time and motioned for Sheriff Andres to approach her. The Sheriff did so but when he was face to face with her, as several news cameras stood by filming it, she motioned with a curled finger for Sheriff Andres to come even closer, as if she wished to take him into her confidence. Andres craned his neck as Mayor Duterte Carpio had asked and without warning she punched him dead in the eye and with that a flurry of punches spun the shocked Andres around. Trying to avoid a potential nightmare the Sheriff very quickly moved out of harms way only to have two of the Mayor's burly police-bodyguards literally drag the visibly terrified Sheriff back to Mayor Duterte Carpio who promptly continued to beat the servant of the court AS her bodyguatds each held his arms at bay.
In late 1960s/early 1970s, an iconic photograph was taken in Vietnam. It showed a plainclothes South Vietnamese security officer pointing his 45 caliber pistol directly onto the side of a prisoner's head immediately before the trigger was pulled. In the photo one sees naked, abject terror on the face of a man about to die at the hands of a despotic state. The still photos that have emerged from the Mayor's assault are no less shocking in their sheer intensity and raw emotion. The 50-something Andres is cringing, as each bodyguard stares menacingly but without abandon in front of flashing cameras. Mayor Duterte Carpio grabs Andres by the collar, as Andres literally begs her to stop, tears coming out of his eyes, and what does the Mayor do? In perhaps the most distressing still taken from the volumes of footage she has her fist cocked, her face twisted in anger, one has no doubt that this is a woman with no compunction about employing violence. Sometimes still shots can be misleading, the Mohammad Atta incident vis a vis the Israeli-Palestinian communal violence quickly comes to mind as does a photo-shopped Reuters still shot of a smoke-filled Beirut sky during the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese War. Yet in this Davao City incident we also have film, from more than a couple of different sources, from more than a couple of different physical perspectives. There is no doubt about what took place...but what about the key participants themselves, what were their reactions after the fact?
Andres eye quickly swealled shut, the other lying under a mass of bruised welts that coloured a good quarter of his face black. Taken to the hospital he was spared the media frenzy that followed, at least initially, though he was intelligent enough to make sure that the media received one very important comment; Sheriff Andres made sure that the media would report that he absolutely would not be filing any charges against the Mayor, criminal or otherwise. Why did Andres do this? The Duterte Clan, under its patriarch, Vice Mayor Rodrigo "Roddy" Duterte has absolutely no qualms about killing its enemies. This isn't unusual at all in Mindanao. In fact, any powerful family on the island, no matter which part of the island, has a large amount of blood on its hands. Yet the Dutertes are different. Most families don't try to publicise such deeds, especially post-2009 and the Maguindanao Massacre. The powers that be saw that no matter how much power, money, and weapons you amass there is still a point at which the Government will have no choice but to come down upon you strongly and decisively. The Dutertes handle publicity about such violence in a unique manner; not only does Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte NOT try to hide it, he has used the public knowledge of such violence to build a widely disseminated public image.
Here is a man who employs a death squad, a group of CPO (City Police Office) handlers supervising NPA Surrenderees, ex-guerillas who have defected to the bosom of the Government. Aside from the materiel and financial incentives offered to Surrenderees under the OPAPP, or Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process, certain Surrenderees are groomed for a more localised "benefit package." Given a free motorcycle and a 45 caliber pistol, operating in two man teams, they kill anyone the Vice Mayor considers to be "anti-social." Usually the victim is a male under the age of 25 who has just been released from the city or provincial jail but the victims are sometimes as young as 10 and guilty of nothing more than being abandoned and having to scavene rubbish bins in order to survive. Though I don't put a lot of stock in the international NGO Human Rights Watch, or HRW, for their obvious political bias in the Middle East, the organisation issued a report on the killings in 2009. The report didn't hold any suprises BUT was worthwhile for a single, direct quote from Duterte in which he stated- in English - that anyone breaking the law is fair game for assasination ("assasination" is the actual word he employed). With hundreds of young victims, to date, only 2 men have ever even been directly investigated in what the Philippine Media chooses to call, the "Davao Death Squad," or "DDS." The 2 men ended up being charged but it is common knowledge that they were merely petty criminals who were sacrificed in this manner as opposed to single shots in the head by 2 men riding tandem on a single motorcycle, using 45 caliber pistols and wearing bonnets (Philippine English for "baclava" or "skimasks"). This took place as even Duterte realised he couldn't spit in the face of reason forever. The whole, "Who me?" shtick had been wearing thin and he needed at least the appearance of an initiative against the hundreds of un-investigated killings.
So, Sheriff Andres realised that he is now a marked man and is trying to increase his chances for long time survival. Judge Carpio, interestingly, has said that the Mayor's assault made a "mockery" of the judicial system. Made aware of the comment Mayor Duterte Carpio responded, " Siya ang mockery! Kay sige sila'g pangayog sa syadad- pangayog allowance, pangayog job order, pangayog gasolina, p*#tang ama nila! Kung maka pangayog, wa tay problema, sige OK, tahang mi na'a may kwarta, kaya man na, pangitaan natog pamaagi. Kung kami mangayog duha ka oras, mockery! Sila ang mockery!!!" I provided her reply in its original form so that noone could accuse me of a biased translation, those were her actual words. Translated idiomatically, she offered, " He is THE mockery! After what he put this city through!? With his (per diem) allowance, his job order, his (free) gas, fuc*en whore for a mother! Look at the (fu*ken) problems he has caused! Fine, that's what he has to say? All I asked was to wait 2 hours! Mockery! He's the mockery!!!" Remember, this is a sebior jurist she is referring to, not to mention her husband's uncle.
Then Mayor Duterte Carpio went on a media offensive...well, kind of/sort of...and began with an interview on the popular Manila-based radio station (major radio stations in the Philippines use systems of relay transmitters so as to be heard in most of the nation's 7,107 islands), DZBB, in a telephone interview with host Gani Oro. Oro didn't push too hard but did ask the Mayor if her assault hadn't been a case of taking the law into her own hands. The good Mayor's response? Again I offer it verbatim, " Alam month magmayor ka muna bago month ako kauspin!" and slammed the phone down. Idiomatically translated, " You know what? First become a mayor before you open your mouth!" Aaaah, the apple never falls far from its tree. With that the Mayor announced that she would be taking a leave of absence effective Monday, July 4th and would return to work the following week.
That Monday, July 4th, DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government, underwhom all mayors sit) Secretary Jesus "Jess" Robredo assigned two DILG attorneys to investigate the Mayor. The attorneys:
1) Ramon Benitez
2) Christopher Tiu
arrived in Davao City that morning and went directly to the Santa Ana District CPO post, the station under which that section of Agado District lies. There they interviewed Senior Inspector Ronald Lao to get his take on the incident. The following morning, July 5th, they set up shoppe in the Sweet Garland Conference Hall in the Grand Men Seng Hotel where they had a long sit down with Mayor Duterte Carpio who brought along her husband, who like her is an attorney, as well as four other attorneys, showing the seriousness of the situation:
1) Nick Galas
2) Israel Torrentro
3) Cirilo Pukot
4) Michael Cloribel
The DILG attorneys have been given a deadline of July 11th to submit their findings to Secretary Jess.
That day, July 5th, Vice Mayor Duterte took to the television airwaves on one of two shows he has. The Tuesday show, "Ako ni Bay," had Duterte congratulating his daughter on a great right hook (seriously) and belittling Sheriff Andres. What he focused on though was a series of comments made by Commissioner Loretta Ann "Etta" Rosales of the CHR, or Commission on Human Rights. Ms. Rosales made her comments the day before...
The day before, July 4th the always opinionated Vice Mayor did a national interview, live, where he was asked about the crescendo of statements published by columnists who are criticising his daughter's actions. His reply is as follows, verbatim, "Ako nga columnists?" (Who are these columnists)", he then raised his middle finger, and continued, "ta*# la#* hindi lang sampa ang inabot noon." The rest of his comment was basically telling columnists to go fuc* themselves. Commissioner Rosales was extremely troubled by Duterte using the middle finger and said that he and his family act as if they are royalty instead of mere public servants. Not one to accept any criticism graciously, Duerte went to the media and challenged Ms.Rosales to file a complaint, his actual response was given in English, " No excuses, no apologies. Do what you want to do." To the media he replied, " Define a 'dirty finger'." He said it is his Constitutional Right under Freedom of Expression. It is amazing that Duterte would use this rationale because I know for a fact that the Constitution protects 12 year old street urchins from being shot in the head with 45 caliber pistols and disposed of like trash.
The Mayor's brother, Paolo "Paul" Duterte, a barangay captain as well as President of the city's Association of Barangay Captains, ergo an ex officio member of the City Council, was asked his take. His response? He did just like dear old dad and gave a middle finger to gathered journalists with the beuatiful accompanying comment, and this is verbatim, "Nia pa oh" (Here is another one). Hubris is never pretty.
Meanwhile, the Mayor's thuggish bodyguards are being investigated. Well, only one is and that is very curious because the film shows two holding Andres' arms while he's being pummeled. PRO-11 (Police Regional Office for Region 11) Director, Senior Superintendent Jaime H.Morentes ordered an investigation into PO3 Dennis Cabudti of the Davao City CPO's Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit, detailed as Mayor Duterte Carpio's bodyguard. Morentes notes that the mandate of a bodyguard doesn't include taking part in an assault.
Depressingly, poor Sheriff Andres actually went on television on Wednesday, July 6th and looking into the camera, said the following to Vice Mayor Duterte Carpio, " Ma'am psensiya na ho," which idiomatically translates as, " Ma'am, I'm so so sorry." I guess I can't blame him, he wants to live. Asked his reponse to this heartfelt plea, Vice Mayor Duterte told journalists that it is only right that Andres apologised. He said the Sheriff was taking part in an illegal eviction. Citing Republic Act #7279 Duterte said that any eviction must take place AFTER a 30 day notice has been given to the municipality in question. Uh, wrong. That is a mute point with regard to PRIVATELY owned property, as in the case of those three blocks. Moreover, the law, from 1992 is meant to spur socialised housing, as in government housing initiatives and has nothing at all to say about consultations with governments, local or otherwise since it is assumed that it is the Government itself undertaking the evictions! Apprently Vice Mayor Duterte hasn't even read the law, because it mandates that the Government consult people it plans to evict 30 days prior to doing so. In fact, I reckon that this law has been broken by Duterte himself numerous times. The city has no right to anything and in fact interfered with a private citizen's Constitutional Right with regard to private property AS WELL AS a judicial writ. Since the benevolent dictator Duterte wishes to wallow in the Constitution (vis a vis his piggish middle finger) he just might want to remember that the Constitution protects ALL citizens. Indeed, it EVEN protects Sheriff Abe Andres. Duterte's second rationalisation, again citing the same law, is that evictions must only be carried out in "Good Weather." Duterte is referring to the flooding that has been plagueing the city. However Agado District was NOT flooded and the skies were cloudless on the day in question, July 1st.
The Duterte camp is trying to disparage Sheriff Andres anyway they can, despite the poor man being too terrified to file a complaint. They have gone to the media with his personnel file. In June of 2008 Andres was placed on an 18 month unpaid suspension for Gross Negligence and Grave Misconduct. However, the case is an indictment of the Philippine System more than anything else. On October 17th, 2005 the court ruled in favor of a plaintiff named Zebaida Silver and ordered the Sheriff to recover 22 vehicles belonging to Ms. Silver. That afternoon Sheriff Andres recovered 2 of the vehicles. On October 18th he was able to impound 4 more. On October 19th he recovered 3 for a total of 9 vehicles out of the ordered 22. The defendant in the case, Kenneth Hao then went to court and won an injunction from Judge Carpio who then ordered Sheriff Andres to cease and desist in the recovery of the remaining 13 vehicles.
On October 24th Sheriff Andres reported to the court that on an inspection of the impounded vehicles made on October 22nd he discovered 8 of the 9 were missing from the compound. Upon investigation he said, PO3 Rodrigo Despe claimed that on October 21st a man known only by the moniker "Nonoy" had entered the compound and made duplicate keys. Andres was blamed for a number of reasons but first and foremost because he began enforcing the judgement the same day it was issued. In most any other nation Andres would be lauded for his efficiency and motivation. It is disgusting that this man has been castigated time and again for simply doing his job. Another complaint, from Hao, was that when Andres impounded vehicles he did so with a military back up. Hao said this was "oppressive" because noone was resisting the action. That is neither here nor there. Faulting an officer of the court for a judgement call on security is ridiculous.
This entire episode is a sad indictment of the Philippine System. Sheriff Andres deserves to be commended while the Dutertes, Father, Daughter, AND Son deserve matching jail cells and psychiatric treatment. The sickest people of all are those citizens of Davao City who are now planning a rally in support of the Duterte Clan because they feel that the Mayor champions the poor. The Mayor doesn't even live in the city but you can bet your bottom peso that IF she did, she wouldn't hesitate to evict anyone squatting on her land. In fact, just a couple of examples from both the Mayor, and her father during his various terms as Mayor; on September 19th, 2004, under the administration of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, 127 families squatting in Block #3 of Sitio Governor P. Bangoy in Agado District, the VERY SAME District where this assault took place, the city forcibly evicted all families and then demolished their homes. The property, originally owned by the Dakudao Clan had been ceded to Davao City in 1957 for the construction of a public market. The city lost interest, the lot sat idle, and by 1963 squatters moved onto it. After Mayor Duterte haf 127 families made homeless on PUBLIC LAND, 89 of the families built 35 hovels on an adjoining street. To prove a point the Mayor had them promptly demolished.
In December of 2006 in the city's San Pedro District, Mayor Duterte had his men try and evict a squatter settlement only to have the squatters turn M16s on them over 4 attempts, from December 6th through the 14th, on the corner of J.P. Rizal and Anda Streets. In 2010 current Mayor Duterte Carpio had 4 settlements destroyed, including one in Bajada District at the request of a close personal friend. The Dutertes are irony personified.
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